This paper examines Derek Mahon’s search for the autonomy of art via his guilt about history and his poetic responsibility. First, Mahon expresses his guilty conscience over the historical strides of Northern Ireland. Agonized by a culprit sensibility, he even comes to censure himself as a poet who colludes in the sectarian violence of his time. Second, Mahon’s guilt directs him to his concern for victims. Mahon sympathetically responds not only to Irish citizens but also to those who have remained neglected and unknown in world histories. Third, Mahon seeks the autonomy of art. His longing for transcendence is represented in his scrupulous search for both poetic forms and images of light.